Tulane University researchers are part of a team of scientists who have developed a hybrid solar energy converter that generates electricity and steam with high efficiency and low cost.
The work led by Matthew Escarra, associate professor of physics and engineering physics at Tulane, and Daniel Codd, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of San Diego, is the culmination of a U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E project that began in 2014 with $3.3 million in funding and involved years of prototype development at Tulane and field testing in San Diego.
The research is detailed this month in the science journal Cell Reports Physical Science. Researchers from San Diego State University, Boeing-Spectrolab and Otherlab were also part of the project.
Read more at Tulane University
Photo: The hybrid solar energy converter features a solar module with glowing red cells built at Tulane. Photo courtesy of Matthew Escarra